News Releases

A half-day conference on faith and the environment 

Saturday October 27
9 am - 1 pm
Convocation Hall, University of Winnipeg
Free admission 

Winnipeg, MB – There are many voices around the world raising concerns that the global community is facing an unprecedented ecological crisis. What is the role of people of faith in responding to this situation? Creation in Peril is an opportunity for people of faith to come together and to, together, advocate for environmental sustainability.  

Keynote speakers: Shaun Loney & Willard Metzger.  

Shaun Loney was the Province of Manitoba’s Director of Energy Policy for six years, and is now the Executive Director of Building Urban Industries for Local Development (BUILD), a social enterprise non-profit contractor and a training program for people who face barriers to employment. BUILD retrofits homes with insulation, high-efficiency toilets, and water-and-energy-saving devices.  

Willard Metzger is Executive Director of the Mennonite Church of Canada and attended the UN’s COP17 Climate Change talks in Durban, South Africa in 2011. He believes that climate change is a moral and ethical issue, and that people of faith must resist the temptation to let their appetites trump their desire to be a faithful church.  

Hosted by Green Faith Alliance Canada, this free event is made possible by the generous support of the Knowles-Woodsworth Centre for Theology and Public Policy and the United Church of Canada.  

Green Faith Alliance Canada is a multi-faith alliance of people who seek to mobilize political will in Canada to advocate for public policies that strengthen environmental sustainability. The Alliance works to build capacity within Manitoba’s faith community to respond to the ecological disasters of climate change, ocean change, and loss of biodiversity. Its mission is to help to inform people of faith about the crisis and to facilitate networking within and outside of the faith community. As well, the Green Faith Alliance aims to facilitate practical responses to the unprecedented environmental crisis humanity is facing. We are united in our commitment to love, respect and defend the environment, which includes our concern for the inviolable dignity of all people and the well-being of our shared Earth.  

Other speakers & panelists at the Creation in Peril conference include: 

• Bill Blaikie, Director, Knowles-Woodsworth Centre for Theology and Public Policy
• Pundit Venkat Machiraju, Priest, Hindu Society of Manitoba
• Katherine Whitecloud, Executive Director, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
• Mishka Lysack, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary
• Gaile Whelan Enns, Social and environmental entrepreneur, Whelan Enns Associates Inc.
• Terry Hidichuk, Acting Dean of Theology, University of Winnipeg
• Bruce Duggan, Director, Buller Centre for Business, Providence University College & Theological Seminary
• Danny Blair, Associate Dean of Science, University of Winnipeg; Acting Principal, Richardson College for the Environment
• Samuel Labun, Bahá’í International Community

Seating is limited. Reserve your free tickets at: http://gfa201210creationinperil-efbevent.eventbrite.ca/ 

Connect:
www.greenfaithalliance.ca
Twitter               @gfacanada
Facebook         GreenFaithAllianceCanada
www.facebook.com/events 

Media Contacts:
Arthur Walker-Jones
204.786.9450 or 204.772.3975
a.walker-jones@uwinnipeg.ca
Professor of Biblical Studies, Faculty of Theology, University of Winnipeg

Bruce Duggan
204.433.7488 e 314
bruce.duggan@prov.ca
Director, Buller Centre for Business, Providence University College & Theological Seminary